One-piece collapsible product-supporting display

ABSTRACT

A display comprising a single piece of sheet material, shaped to form a rectangular section, terminating at ends thereof in reduced tonguelike members, the central portion of the section being apertured and scored to form a product- or articlesupporting body and scored to form foldable bottom wall parts, with said tonguelike members foldable with respect to the bottom wall parts and secured together and adapted to be disposed within the aperture of said body to aid in support of an article mounted in the display.

United States at ent [72] invent r Gerald J- Benson 2.975905 3/1961 Foland 248/459 216-16 85th Ave., Queens Village, N.Y. 3,029,051 4/1962 Nichois 248/174 11 2 3,462,020 8/1969 Hall 211/73 315 3 969 FOREIGN PATENTS 1 c ar. H5] Paemed June 22,197] 1,384,032 11/1964 France 248/472 Primary Examiner-Marion Parsons, Jr. AnomeyHoward E. Thompson, Jr. [54] ONE-PIECE COLLAPSIBLE PRODUCT- SUPPORTING DISPLAY 1 Claim, 7 Drawing Figs.

{52] U.S. Cl 248/174, ABSTRACT; A display comprising a Sing|e piece f sheet 1/73148/459343/472 material, shaped to form a rectangular section, terminating at [51] Int. Cl A471) 97/00 ends th f in reduced tonguelike members, the Carma] 1 Field Search 24'8/174- tion of the section being apertured and scored to form a 472i 211/7273, 135 productor article-supporting body and scored to form foida- References Cited b1e bottom wall parts, with said tonguelike members foidabie with respect to the bottom wall parts and secured together and UNlTED STATES PATENTS adapted to be disposed within the aperture of said body to aid 2,142,826 1/1939 Roselio 248/174 in support of an article mounted in the display.

PATENTED Juwzz I97] INVENTOR. 6RHLDJ5N50N BY V W4 341 0 9 Q7 ATTORNEY ONE-PIECE COLLAPSIBLE PRODUCT-SUPPORTING DISPLAY The invention further deals with a display device of the character defined, wherein the device can be compactly collapsed in a relatively thin rectangular form, facilitating packaging for shipment of a large number of the devices and still maintaining relative positions of the component parts of the device for quick and simple movement into setup operative product-supporting position.

Another feature of the display device resides in the fact that the resulting triangular-shaped body of the operative device provides side panels, upon which advertising or display literature can be arranged in providing two distinct display sides to the device when arranged upon a support and, wherein, tonguelike members of the device protrude through the apcrtured portion of the triangular body and also provide opposed surfaces, upon which display matter can be applied. Still further, in uses of the display device as illustrated, the united productsupporting tonguelike members can be arranged in a number of productsupporting positions.

The novel features of the invention will be best understoo from the following description, when taken together with the accompanying drawing, in which certain embodiments of the invention are disclosed and, in which, the separate parts are designated by suitable reference characters in each of the views and, in which:

FIG. I is a plan view of the formation of the blank, from which the product display is formed.

FIG. 2 is a plan view illustrating a first step in the formation of the display.

FIG. 3 is a similar view showing the second step in the formation of the display and also showing the collapsed packaging arrangement of the display.

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of FIG. 2.

FIG. Sis a section on the line 5-5 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a side view of the display device in operative position and on an enlarged scale.

FIG. 7 is a section on the line 7-7 of FIG. 6 and indicating the united tonguelike members in one position in full lines and in one of two other positions in dotted lines.

Display devices of the type and kind under consideration are used for supporting products of various types and kinds, the term products" being generally used to identify articles of manufacture, packaged products and stacks of cards, pamphlets, circulars and the like and, in the present illustration of one adaptation of the invention, the product-supporting body part of the display is fashioned to support groups of cards, pamphlets, circulars and the like.

Considering FIG. I of the drawing, this illustrates the die formation or blanking of the sheet material of any type or kind that can be printed, lithographed or otherwise formed or marked. A relatively thin sheet of paperboard can be used and, in the formation, a rectangular section 10, having parallel sides, is produced. Centrally of this section will be formed an aperture 11 which, in the construction shown, is oblong and rectangular in form, but which can have any shape or contour for conforming to or snugly engaging the product to be displayed. The blank is scored or otherwise fashioned centrally, as seen at 12, to divide a product-supporting body or element, generally identified by the reference character 13, into relatively foldable body or element sides I3.

At terminal ends of the section are bottom wall parts 14 foldable with respect to 13, as seen at the score line 15. Projecting centrally from the parts 14 are tonguelike members 16, greater in length than the width of the element sides, and foldable with respect to the parts 14 on the score lines 17, the members 16 preferably having, at their extremities, angular comers 18. It is pointed out, at this time, that the transverse width of the tonguelike members is less than the opposed shorter walls of the aperture 11 to provide free movement of the tonguelike members in said apertures in movement of the tonguelike members into operative position or into different display and support positions, as later described.

In producing the resulting display device from the blank, as seen in FIG. I, the first step is to fold the tonguelike members 16 on the lines I7 upon a surface of the bottom wall parts 14 and onto 13', as seen in FIGS. 2 and 4 of the drawing. While the parts are in this position, the upper surfaces 16' can have a suitable adhesive applied thereto, defining securing means; whereupon, the assemblage as seen in FIG. 2, is folded on the score line 12 to bring the parts into the position shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, in other words, in bringing the surfaces 16 into engagement with each other in securing the tonguelike members together to form united tongue members. This illustration is by way of one method of procedure, it being understood that these tongue members can be secured together to provide the united assemblage in any desired manner.

With the parts in the position shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the device now assumes an arrangement which adaptsthe same for packaging and shipment of a large number of the devices in a rectangular container or wrapper, generally of the contour of the boundary walls of the collapsed parts 13"and 14 with the united tongue members disposed therebetween, as clearly illustrated in FIG, 5.

From the position of the device, as seen in FIGS. 3 and 5, the display device is readily set up into operative position by grasping the protruding ends of the united tongue members 16 accessible in the aperture 1l, as seen in FIG. 3, and bring the display device into the position shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, in other words, with the' bottom wall parts 14 in alignment for support of the device on any surface and with the assembled tongue members 16 in an upright position in full lines, as illustrated in FIG. 7 being capable of movement to either side to engage the wall of the'aperture 11 and one of these positions of the members 16 is indicted in dotted lines in said figure. In this setup position of the display device, the body parts 13' are in'angular position with respect to each other, forming, in conjunction with the bottom wall parts, a triangular product supporting body.

It will be apparent that outer exposed surfaces of the body portions 13' can have display matter applied thereto as, for example, as by printing, lithographing or otherwise, relating to the product supported in the display. In some instances, other matter of this type and kind can be applied to opposed side surfaces of the assembled tongue members 16.

As stated before, the illustration of the display device is primarily for support of an assemblage or group of cards, pamphlets, circulars or the like on both sides of the device when the members 16 are in the full line position of FIG. 7 or in either one of the sides of the device when the members 16 are in either one of the two angular positions, one of which is shown in dotted lines in FIG. 7.

The device of the type and kind here disclosed, by way of illustration, is for the support of products, such as the cards and the like, that are made available for picking up by customers or others and, in such use, at least one side 13' of the body will have printed or lithographed thereon the notation Take One." It will be apparent that the device, then placed upon a counter, table or other suitable support, will have two visible sides, as well as to accessible sides, particularly in the full line showing of FIG. 7. In other words, the products, cards or the like can be removed from either side of the device.

A device of the type and kind can be very economically formed and, by controlling the dimensions of the projecting tongue members with respect to each half of the central section, a multiplicity of'the blanks can be cut from wide sheets with a close relationship of the blanks one with respect to the other to minimize the waste of the sheet material and, above all, the simplicity of this device eliminates the problems commonly experienced in devices of the kind under consideration having intricate means of assemblage in setting up the resulting display or support from the knocked-down arrangement of the parts for constructing such support. As mentioned above, the simple grasping of the accessible tongue members 16, as in FIG. 3, and snapping the device downwardly, the collapsed showing, as in FIG. 3, is moved into the setup device, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 of the drawing.

For purposes of description, the product-supporting body comprising 13, 13' and the bottom walls 14 may be said to comprise a first product support element; whereas, the joined or coupled tongue members 16 may be said to comprise a second product support element.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A product supporting and displaying device comprising a single sheet of material defined by a rectangular section including a first product-supporting element consisting of foldably joined and collapsible body portions and bottom walls foldably and collapsibly joined with said body portions, the dimensions of said body portions and bottom walls being such as to impart to said element in assembled position an essentially equilateral triangular cross section, a second product-supporting element comprising tongue members of uniform width foldably and collapsibly joined with said bottom walls and having means for coupling said tongue members in face to face relationship with each other in forming said second element, said body portions of said first element including cutouts collectively providing a product-receiving aperture of essentially rectangular contour and extending equal and substantial distances into said body portions from the foldable juncture thereof, said second element projecting through said aperture when the device is in display position and being movable with respect thereto to permit selective display of articles at either or both sides of said second element, the length of said second element being less than that of the collapsed first element but greater than the length to the cutout portions thereof, whereby said body portions and bottom walls are collapsible on the second element in the packaging and shipment of the device, and said second element is of such dimension as to be contained within peripheral boundaries of the first element, and exposed at the aperture therein, when in collapsed position. 

1. A product supporting and displaying device comprising a single sheet of material defined by a rectangular section including a first product-supporting element consisting of foldably joined and collapsible body portions and bottom walls foldably and collapsibly joined with said body portions, the dimensions of said body portions and bottom walls being such as to impart to said element in assembled position an essentially equilateral triangular cross section, a second product-supporting element comprising tongue members of uniform width foldably and collapsibly joined with said bottom walls and having means for coupling said tongue members in face to face relationship with each other in forming said second element, said body portions of said first element including cutouts collectively providing a product-receiving aperture of essentially rectangular contour and extending equal and substantial distances into said body portions from the foldable juncture thereof, said second element projecting through said aperture when the device is in display position and being movable with respect thereto to permit selective display of articles at either or both sides of said second element, the length of said second element being less than that of the collapsed first element but greater than the length to the cutout portions thereof, whereby said body portions and bottom walls are collapsible on the second element in the packaging and shipment of the device, and said second element is of such dimension as to be contained within peripheral boundaries of the first element, and exposed at the aperture therein, when in collapsed position. 